Leaving Las Vegas

 Hard Rock Hotel seen from my room, with a huge empty lot and remains of a foundation and parking lot in between.  Looking a little post-apocalyptic.

Mountains to the east.

This is a small sampling of what you will see at Valley of Fire State Park, about an hour northeast of Las Vegas.  A range of impossibly red rock formations have emerged from the desert thanks to eons of erosion.  The color is astonishing, and the rock is carved by the wind and blowing sand into fantastical shapes.  Nature creating her own version of a Gaudy Hellscape.

More Vegas

One writer documenting DefCon referred to Las Vegas as a "gaudy hellscape", which I think is the most perfect description ever and not in a bad way.  The artificial colors everywhere heighten awareness of all the natural colors too (and the desert heat can certainly conjure up an inferno).  This fairly ordinary scene behind the Tuscany Hotel is enlivened by the amazing colors of the buildings, and by my near-delirium due to the 110-degree temperatures.

Bally's Hotel, site of DefCon.

One of the (fairly normal-colored) hotels where we stayed.

Vegas

A ten-day trip to Las Vegas last month produced some new little watercolor sketches, plein air.  Hotter than blazes, the paint dried almost before it hit the paper.  The colors are amazing in the thin desert air.

 Industrial park, south Las Vegas.  Red Rock Canyon in the distance.

Mandalay and Luxor hotel/casinos.  

 

Palms with bright red seed pods.

Looking down from the hotel room.

Aliens

Hawaii is home to many species of birds, but not all of them started out here.  Residents now, but at one point, alien invaders.   All below are watercolor, all painted from life.

 Red-Vented Bulbul.  These, along with Mynahs, are the most plentiful birds on the island.  Not so welcome.  Considered invasive, injurious to native species and plants.  Native to Asia, illegally introduced on Oahu in the 1950's.  They are *everywhere*.  The other islands either don't have them, or only a few (so far).

The Common Myna(h), also an Asian import, is so ubiquitous that many people don't know they didn't originate here.  Believed to pair for life, they are extremely prolific and displace other birds, even robbing nests.  Mynahs are related to starlings, and their huge gatherings generate quite a lot of noise.  They are funny and endearing to watch, though, so it's hard not to love them.  We don't have crows here, and I miss them.

NOT an alien.  The Pacific Golden Plover, also quite numerous, is a welcome migratory species.  Breeding season is spent in northern Alaska, then they winter in Asia, Hawaii, even Southern California. They are seen everywhere here in the fall and winter, even on grassy areas in very urban environments.  This one was fast-moving, the painting was done quickly with no drawing.

sketching Hawaii

The Ko'olau mountains usually are engulfed in clouds, which makes the sunrise beautiful.
Below, the hills much closer to our apartment are remnants of a small volcanic crater (unlike the enormous volcano that resulted in the Ko'olaus).

more from the sketchbook

In January, we sold our boat after living aboard for a year, and in April, we moved to Hawaii.  In the months before the move, I biked around to familiar places in San Diego and did little sketches.  Sort of saying goodbye. 

This is the first one I did after we got to Hawaii.  We're definitely not in Kansas any more!

pages from the sketchbook

I made a pocket-size sketchbook using Hahnemuhle Ingres drawing paper, which has become a favorite support for watercolor as well.  Some of those works in the last post are also on that paper.  This tiny sketchbook went with me everywhere while we were preparing to move away from San Diego, and I did a bunch of these little studies, a couple of them out on the Point not far from Cabrillo.  I'll post a few more tomorrow.

East County watercolors

These are small watercolors I did east of San Diego, from a few months back.  Top one is 6 X 9, lower one is 4 X 7. I'll post a few more soon, and talk about where I am and what I'm doing now.  

East County sketches

All about 5 x 7", plein air sketches

San Diego River wetland. 5 x 7".

Dowitcher

Little Blue Heron

Long Billed Curlew

Birds of Paradise, 5x7". A day trip to the Irvine Museum with a dear friend.

Limited palette experiment--raw sienna, English red, Payne's gray. 5x7", Hahnemuhle bamboo paper.

Sunset, Waikiki. Farewell to Hawaii for now, but not for long.

Pyramid Rock, beach at MCBH, Kaneohe Bay. It was almost too hot to paint that day and no shade around, so this was done very quickly indeed.

Studies of the lava mountains above Waikiki that form the Honolulu watershed.

Different time of day and rare cloud-free sun.

 Hibiscus blossom. Flowers everywhere here.

Mokule'ia Beach Park, Oahu's north shore. 

Sea turtle studies. There were several of these beautiful endangered beings at the shore, but they don't stay long and it's forbidden to get close to them.

Clear, warm water and coral reefs, hardly anyone else around. A wonderful swim in the company of many fishes. 

Pu'u O Hulu (distant) and Ma'ili'ili seen from Kane'ilio Point, Waianae.  Looking southward on Oahu's western shore.

Papaya. The fruit here is unsurpassable.

Kaneilio Point, Poka'i Bay, Waianae.

Java Sparrows, aka Java Finches. Classed as vulnerable on the endangered species list, because Asian countries are trying to eradicate them as rice-eating pests. Here in Hawaii, they are loved. Although still scarce, they're doing better.